This is the seventh article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III | part IV | part V | part VI]. On the internet, and especially in forum discussions like we all have here on OSNews, it is almost certain that in any given discussion, someone will most likely bring up usability and GUI related terms - things like spatial memory, widgets, consistency, Fitts' Law, and more. The aim of this series is to explain these terms, learn something about their origins, and finally rate their importance in the field of usability and (graphical) user interface design. In part VII, as promised in part VI, we focus completely on CDE, the Common Desktop Environment.

"--In XFCE at least, I discovered I could middle-click the desktop to bring up a window and virtual-desktop list."

In XFCE 3, you have a kind of little taskbar beneath the symbols at the front panel. Every running app has an entry there, so you can switch from app to app.

"Cool, but awkward on my two-button laptop."

I know, a typical problem with x86 notebooks. The most important mouse button is missing. :-)

"Again, requires visible (read: wasted) desktop space."

You can assign this function to a key combination, for example, Alt+PF3.

"How do you CDE lovers multitask?"

I can only answer for myself: I've used the workspace switch in the middle of the front panel, or Alt+Tab in the usual way. But I have to say that I didn't use much applications maximized due to a screen that was large enough (these times).